Bend or Break

Anybody who knows anything about working out will tell you there’s one important thing you must do before and after your workout—stretch. And if you decide to skip that step, you could end up pulling a muscle.

In other words, your muscle will stretch whether or not you want it to; it’s up to you whether you prepare for it to do so.

If you tried applying for a job lately, chances are you’ll see this phrase: “must be flexible”. Flexibility seems to be the buzzword no matter what field you’re in.

You have to be flexible with your time and skills—whether it means working outside of your usual “8 a.m. to 5 p.m.” timeslot, or doing something that wasn’t in your primary job description.

Human Resources Departments nationwide are also showing flexibility towards workers by allowing them to structure work hours around their personal life, permitting more employees to work remotely, and approving personnel to briefly peruse through their personal social media accounts during work hours.

That’s the world we live in now. Gone are the days when you could say, “I’ve been doing it like this for 10 years!” You must stay fluid because the way things are accomplished can change at the drop of a dime.

You can either be flexible and stay ahead of the curve (“stretch”), or allow yourself to stay rigid and suffer the consequences that happen when you don’t prepare yourself accordingly (“pull a muscle”).

I suggest you find ways in which you can be more flexible in your current position, if you haven’t done so already, because those who don’t are usually phased out of their jobs by those who did.